Can Rahm Emanuel bounce back?

By
Stephen Stromberg

Of all the pernicious things about Monday's appeals court ruling that threw Rahm Emanuel off the ballot in Chicago, among the worst was the timing: the day before city officials were to begin printing ballots, and a week before early voting will start. It seemed that Emanuel's mayoral run was done -- even if the Illinois Supreme Court put Emanuel back in the running, his name wouldn't appear on lots of printed ballots. Far smaller details have sunk candidates (butterfly ballot, anyone?).

But on Tuesday, the state Supreme Court ordered that, for now, no ballots may be printed without Emanuel's name on them. That's good: To do otherwise would have been exceptionally unfair. But now the Supreme Court needs to hear Emanuel's case, and soon. If it agrees with much of the commentary -- that the appeals court ruling was nonsensical on technical and on principled grounds -- but does so after voting begins, its mere delay could heavily bias the election.

Even if the Supreme Court reversed the appeals court's ruling immediately, staying on the ballot with a legitimate candidacy wouldn't be enough to repair the damage that all of this last-minute confusion has done to Emanuel's run. Some voters will surely end up seeing his name on the ballot and thinking that he's still ineligible. Others may already be reconsidering a pro-Emanuel vote out of renewed concern about his ties to Washington or his absence from the city. Still others might consider other candidates they once deemed unlikely winners with Emanuel in the race -- and stick with their new picks. Voters, of course, are free to change their minds. The process of influencing them, though, is a political one that the courts should avoid with extreme care -- of the sort the appeals court seems not to have exercised in the Emanuel case.

I am thankful that a court ruling "..threw Rahm Emanuel off the ballot..", because he should never have been on it in the first place. We don't need another corrupt politician in Chicago. Seems like they're almost impossible to avoid here, but I believe Rahm is the worse of the evils.

Rahm Emanuel is nothing more than a power-hungry egotistical criminal. He worked against Obama almost constantly, scheming with even worse, more corrupt, members of Congress. He called us "retarded" because WE THE PEOPLE wanted and expected Obama to keep his promises. I wish Rahm Emanuel would leave America, because we would all be better off without him.

Rahm Emmanuel belongs on the Chicago ballot and he will win. The Supreme Court announced they will hear the case and expedite it. The two Court of Appeals justices were wrong in their decision to take Rahm off the ballot and I think if the Supreme Court thought they were right they wouldn't have bothered with the case.

Chicago is a nutty political City but Chicago will be in much worse shape if the next Mayor is Carol Mosley Braun. She would be a disaster. She couldn't even be a Senator without getting into trouble no less run a complex City.

For the sake of my friends who live in Chicago I hope the court ends this nonsense and quickly decides that Rahm is legally allowed to run.

Why do politicians get to make up special rules applicable only to themselves whenever some inconvenient law applicable to the rest of us prevents them from running for some office they covet?

Mr. Emanuel rented out his property in Chicago, for money, under a lease, and moved his family to DC. When I did something similar, my voter registration was canceled, because -- I thought -- I was no longer a legal resident. But apparently it was only because I am not a special enough person.

P.S. I am thinking of studying abroad for 18 months. Part of my calculation is the considerable expense of maintaining my residence in New York. Too bad I'm not Rahm Emanuel, then I wouldn't have to worry about legal niceties.

"The process of influencing them, though, is a political one that the courts should avoid with extreme care -- of the sort the appeals court seems not to have exercised in the Emanuel case." Exactly right. Decisions like this just before an election are wrong no matter what the merits.

He'll bounce back and win. Whether you like him or not, he has always lived in Chicago until he took this temporary political job.

He votes in Illinois, pays taxes in Illinois, and carries an Illinois driver's license. He belongs on the ballot.

Actually what amazes me about all this is that Carol Mosely Braun is back after her ridiculous stint as Senator. I met her and thought she was very bright and personable and said all the right stuff. I voted for her. And then she became Senator. Talk about corrupt! Wow could she travel!!!! And so nice and generous with her boyfriend!

Whenever Blacks take control, things tend to go to hell. It happened in New York, LA, Detroit, Atlanta, and many other places. It's scary to think of the damage someone like Carol Mosley Braun could do.

Most states and jurisdictions make exceptions for people who are elected or appointed to federal office, and for good reason. Should everyone who is elected to Congress lose citizenship in their home states/districts? Of course not. To suggest otherwise is absurd. The same applies for political appointees whose terms are limited necessarily limited either by choice, forced resignation, or the end of their patron's term of office. I think it is beyond ridiculous to suggest that political appointees and elected officials cannot rent properties they legally own in their home state while they are in residence in Washington for their jobs.

The issue is where is Rahm Emanuel's political home? One way to resolve the issue would be to look at from where a candidates campaign contributions originate. Are the envelopes from Chicagoans, or, from, let's say Manhattan? If the majority of his financing is from Wall Street, then, clearly, he cannot be a candidate from Chicago.

Rubber ball, I come bouncin' back to you
Rubber ball, I come bouncin' back to you
Ah-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

I'm like a rubber ball
Baby that's all that I am to you
(Bouncy, bouncy) (bouncy, bouncy)
Just a rubber ball
'Cause you think you can be true to two
(Bouncy, bouncy) (bouncy, bouncy)
You bounce my heart around
(You don't even put her down)
And like a rubber ball
I come bouncin' back to you
Rubber ball, I come bouncin' back to you

If you stretch my love till it's thin enough to tear
I'll just stretch my arms to reach you anywhere
And like a rubber ball, I'll come bouncin' back to you
Rubber ball, I'll come bouncin' back to you

Rubber ball, I come bouncin' back to you
Rubber ball, I come bouncin' back to you
Ah-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

I'm like a rubber ball
Baby that's all that I am to you
(Bouncy, bouncy) (bouncy, bouncy)
Just a rubber ball
'Cause you think you can be true to two
(Bouncy, bouncy) (bouncy, bouncy)
You bounce my heart around
(You don't even put her down)
And like a rubber ball
I come bouncin' back to you
Rubber ball, I come bouncin' back to you

If you stretch my love till it's thin enough to tear
I'll just stretch my arms to reach you anywhere
And like a rubber ball, I'll come bouncin' back to you
Rubber ball, I'll come bouncin' back to you

That's not the "Chicago Way." When he got told NO yesterday and decided to fight that, the Teamsters decided to endorse him today. People won't forget him! There's no such thing as bad publicity rings true in ChiTown!

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